Category Archives: Food

Creamed Corn

This Creamed Corn Recipe has been around in our family since the 70’s. It originally came from a restaurant in Southern California called Gulliver’s. I still have the recipe card they were happy to hand out to patrons of the restaurant. This restaurant is still in existence. It makes a great side dish for Prime Rib or steak. I realized I hadn’t posted the recipe on my blog. This will help next Christmas when I search for this dish that I only make once a year!

  • 32 ounce package of frozen corn
  • 8 ounces whipping cream
  • 8 ounces milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 teaspoons sugar

——————

  • 2 tablespoons soft butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 pinch of White Pepper

 

  1. Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile blend the flour, butter, and white pepper together.
  3. Add the flour mixture to the simmering corn and stir and watch carefully as the mixture thickens.
  4. Serve and enjoy.

Note: Instead of 8 ounces of whipping cream and 8 ounces of milk, I most often just use 16 ounces of Half and Half.

Christmas Day 2025

Christmas day started quietly with just the two of us enjoying a Fancy Egg Scramble. I was able to set the table and make a few of the food preparations before the two sleighs from across the mountains arrived 3 minutes apart. Soon afterwards the Colville kids arrived and quiet was replaced with joyful chatter and anticipation of what Christmas day holds at Baba and Gramps’.

(A fair warning: This is a many many photo full post)

The centerpiece.

No white Christmas for us this year.

The birthday cake for Jesus arrived with the Bayles Mountain crew. Designed and planned by Addy and JJ and brought together by their mom. The stable, the star, Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, sheep, shepherd, 3 wise men and a donkey were all included!

Use your imagination and you’ll be able to see all the main participants. It took me a while to figure out that the marshmallows with the little bit of pretzel were the sheep!

This little guy was hungry and excited to see it was time to carve the Prime Rib Roast. He said, “that smells good!”

(A shout out to our local grocery store, Super 1, who offered their prime rib roasts at only $9.99 a pound, cut and tied. )

The menu consisted of Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, Roasted Vegetables, and Creamed Corn (not from a can).

Christmas Day 008

This year the readings were from Luke, Hebrews and Philippians.

Christmas Crackers ready set Pull!

Presents and time for belly-laughs! Even though this was a ‘stocking gift’ year, the gifts seemed endless.

Time for comfy jammies or putting feet up watching a video sent to Addy and JJ from Great auntie Christina.

A Marco polo. Do any of you or your kids participate?

Here are some of our photos for our Christmas card greetings that we took over Thanksgiving weekend.

And that is a wrap of our preparing for and enjoying the day of celebrating the birth of Jesus with Angels watching over us all.

Boxing day and our For-Tea will be separate posts coming in the New Year!

Applesauce Cake Roll

My mom used to made this Applesauce Cake Roll years ago and I had tried it once in the past and decided to try it again. It makes a nice dessert that isn’t too sweet and is festive. I made a couple mistakes and will improve on my cake rolling the next time around. My company did not mind it’s imperfection!

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Powdered sugar (icing sugar) for dusting

Filling:
12 oz. of cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Beat eggs till thick.
Gradually add sugar beating well.
Add 1/2 cup applesauce.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt & cloves.
Fold into egg mixture along with the walnuts.
Spread in greased and floured 15 x 10 x 1 jelly roll pan. I updated this step and used parchment paper that I lightly greased.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
Immediately loosen sides and invert onto a kitchen towel.
Pull parchment paper off and cover with powdered sugar.
Roll the cake in the towel and let it cool completely. It will be a nicer roll if you roll it on the short side.
Prepare the filling by beating the cream cheese, sugar and milk together till smooth.
When the cake has cooled unfold it and spread the filling evenly on the cake.
Roll the cake again carefully, discarding the towel.
Wrap the whole cake with foil (I sprayed the foil with cooking spray) and freeze. This will make it easy to cut when ready to serve.
When ready to serve, unwrap the cake, dust with powdered sugar (icing sugar) cut slices and serve with ice cream or whip cream.

I’ve got room for improvement but my beginner attempt was well received and devoured.

Brie in Puffed Pastry

Time to gather up some ideas for the season.

Brie in Puffed Pastry
This is a very simple dish to serve as an appetizer or dessert.

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole Brie ( I used a 19.6 oz. round)
  • 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry thawed
  • 1/2- 1 cup chopped toasted nuts (pecans or walnuts)
  • 1/2- 1 cup jam/preserves of your choice (I used a chipotle raspberry)
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water.
  • 1 sheet of parchment paper
  • Bread or crackers to serve with the Brie

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Roll thawed sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to approximately 12-14 inches square. Spread chopped nuts in circle in center of pastry.
  3. Top the nuts with the jam/preserves.
  4. Place brie circle centered on the jam.
  5. At this stage you can use some of the pastry to cut out a decoration for the top.
  6. Fold up the edges of the pastry to cover the brie completely.
  7. Flip the Brie wrapped in pastry over.
  8. Add decoration if you like.
  9. Place the Brie on parchment lined baking sheet.
  10. Brush the pastry with beaten egg mixture.
  11. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Note: I prefer to scrape off some of the rind especially from the top where the jam and nuts will rest. I like the idea of the jam permeating the brie easier in the baking process. Although I didn’t have red grapes when I prepared my Brie but it would be a very nice accompaniment.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hodgepodge

It’s another week with fresh questions for Hodgepodge Wednesday. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Do you make an effort to see/hear live music? Last time you went somewhere for the live music? 

We enjoy live music every Sunday at church.

We haven’t made an effort to enjoy live music elsewhere lately except for attending evensong while in Great Britain, Scotland or Ireland and our Church’s Children’s Musicals at Christmas.

We are looking into attending a live performance of The Messiah this year.

2.According to HGTV the colors of the year for 2026 are mostly decided. Top paint companies declare a color of the year, and decorators will incorporate that into their new year home and room designs. Here’s what’s on tap in terms of paint trends for 2026 (check out the link here to see photos)

  • Sherwin Williams-universal khaki (inspired by heavy canvas and outdoor gear)
  • Behr-hidden gem (a confident shade of teal)
  • Valspar-warm eucylyptus (a warm sliver tinted green)
  • Dutch Boy-melodious ivory (a honey tinted beige)
  • Glidden-warm mahogany (a classic brick red)
  • Krylon-matte coffee bean
  • Clark and Kensington -Hazelnut Crunch (warm reddish-brown)
  • Graham and Brown-Divine Damson (cherry red with a subtle violet undertone)
  • Dunn and Edwards-midnight garden (the green that works everywhere) 

First question-did you know there were so many different paint manufacturers?

Yes, I’m married to a former painter and his first job was with his father in a painting business.

Which color on the list most appeals to you in terms of your own decorating style?

Decorating style is not a term that I would use for me or my home. 🙂 The base color in our home is Khaki Shadow with white trim.

Do you have plans to do any painting in your home in the coming year, and if so might you choose a color from this list? 

The only plan is to complete some areas that were started awhile back. Just a little trim here and there.

Now, forget painting walls, which color name appeals to you most? 

Hidden gem is appealing.

3. What’s something in your life you have to do-watch-or participate in that’s about as exciting as ‘watching paint dry’? 

For this one, I’m going with drying my hair.

4 . Tuesday, October 14th is/was National Dessert day…did you/will you celebrate? Tell us how? What’s your absolute favorite dessert. Yes, just one. I know!! 

I would pick roolyete. A traditional nut roll our mom made and we have now duplicated. I like pastries that have a soft chew to them. Here’s the recipe.

5. Perhaps today is the day I will…

Sort through my clothes and purge.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Tuesday October 14th was also Charlie Kirk Day. It was a day to wear red in remembrance of this young man who would have been 32 on that day and I was happy to participate.

We also watched the White House ceremony to honor Charlie Kirk’s memory with President Trump awarding him the Medal of Freedom, posthumously.

The Golden Season Hodgepodge

It’s Fall y’all and Joyce has a fresh batch of questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Fall officially rolls into the Northern Hemisphere on Monday (9/22)…what’s your favorite thing about fall?

All the things! I like the weather, the changing colors, our local Corn Maze, Cider Fest, Thanksgiving, Flannel and the end of mosquito season.

2. What’s one thing on your real or proverbial autumn bucket list?

New England or Prince Edward Island would be nice to visit during the Autumn months.

3. Apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and cranberries are some of the top fall foods. Which one is your favorite and how do you like it prepared?

A Thanksgiving dinner favorite is sweet potatoes/yams baked in buttery brown sugar and marshmallows on top golden and delightful, a favorite of kids young and old.

A good butternut squash soup with a little spice is delicious!

Any on the list you don’t eat?

I can eat any of those things.

Which one have you had most recently?

I might have had dried cranberries in a nut mix the most recently.

4. ‘Fall is proof that change is beautiful’ is a popular sentiment. Would you agree or no? Elaborate.

I am a fan of Fall so I could describe it as beautiful. I also like the changes that occur from summer to fall. Not all change is beautiful and not all the changes from Summer to Fall are beautiful. This isn’t a sentiment that would come out of my mouth. That’s a  little nitpicky but I’d share another sentiment for Fall like “Fall is the season for cozy hugs and warm mugs.”

5. Is there a spot near you where people go to see the leaves change color?

Around our parts you can see the Larches/Tamaracks in some nice groves that have taken on their golden hue.

Will you try to leaf peep somewhere this fall? Lonely Planet lists the following ten places as the best for leaf peeping…of those listed which would you most like to visit?

Stowe, Vermont~Shenandoah National Park, Virginia~Columbia River Gorge, Oregon~Zion National Park, Utah~Tennessee/North Carolina border~West Virgina~Northwestern Wyoming~Wisconsin Northwoods~Northern Nevada~Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway, Arkansas

We are closest to the Columbia River Gorge and that would be a nice Fall road trip.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We were thrilled to hear on Tuesday that all evacuation levels were suspended for the Crown Fire which is the closest fire to us. We are so thankful for all the fire fighters that have been battling these fires. Thank you, LORD, for them and for the rain we received on Sunday!

Happy Autumn/Fall to all hodgepodgers and visitors here!

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Hodgepodge

Our current views are smoke filled and our air is very unhealthy. When I was at the library yesterday they were handing out smoke rated masks.

Continuing with Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce From This Side of the Pond this historic week for our family and nation. 

1. What gives you energy?

Planning for a trip or an event gives me energy.

What takes it away?

Confrontation

2. How often do you shop for clothes?

Not often. If I’m going to shop for clothes it would be for a wedding or another special event.

What accessory do you always wear? 

My wedding ring and my watch.

3. What’s something free that you feel grateful for? 

The air we breathe. This is what came to mind because of the smoke filled skies and ash in the air. My throat is scratchy and my eyes are sore. Looking forward to our fires being put out and our skies clearing.

There are 5 fires burning in our area, maybe more. The two largest in our tri-county part of the state are within 15 miles from us. Agencies from across the state are camping in our little town as they help with the fires. I’ll have to get a photo of the camp sites to share.

4. Breakfast, lunch, dinner…which meal of the day do you enjoy most? What’s your go-to comfort food? 

Any one of them is enjoyed when the food is tasty and good. I find soup to be very comforting. Russian foods that our mom made are high on the list for comfort, pirishky, lopsha, apricot filled pastry, Vareniki, Roolyet, blintzes.

5. This week the world remembers the tragic events of 9/11. Do you mark the day in any way?

A day we’ll never forget.

This was taken in 2001. In reaction to sitting and watching all the horror unfold on our television, the attacks on our country, I found the flag that was presented to Greg’s mom at his father, Rex’s, funeral. I slipped it out our daughter’s window on the street side of our home in support of our country.

On the 20 year anniversary we put out all the flags!

There is a 9/11 ride here in our town every year and when we can we go out and wave our flags somewhere along the route.

How do historical events shape your perspective on your personal challenges?

In our travels in Oxford and in Scotland and interest in reading books about the reformation and reformers and all the history surrounding those who stood for truth and were martyred for their faith makes my personal challenges seem trivial in comparison.

Having a son-in-law who was deployed twice to Afghanistan and friends and a brother-in-law who served in Viet Nam and knowing all the challenges that they faced during and after their military service also gives me a different perspective on my aches and pains.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

In 2026 we will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of our Country and the 25th Anniversary of 2011. We’ll have to pull out all the stops with all of our red, white, and blue!

Cedar + Elm at The Lodge

Before I move on to today’s post I wanted to let you know that our home is safe and evacuation levels have stabilized but the fire is still burning.

On Friday September 5th Laura and Katie treated me to tea at Cedar + Elm at The Lodge at St. Edward Park.  

There was live music and the artist had a beautiful mellow voice which made for a pleasant background of music.

When we were done with our leisurely tea we walked about the Lodge.

Lady of the Lake of Arthurian legend.

Thank you to Laura and Katie for the nice treat and lovely afternoon together. Thank you, too, to Josh and Laura for always being so hospitable to us.

We spent last Thursday on the road to travel to Bothell then spent the next three full days on the Westside. We met up with friends on Thursday and Saturday.  On Saturday morning we attended a conference with Paul Tripp on Suffering. It was such a well spent 2-1/2 hours! On Sunday evening our westside kids treated us to dinner to celebrate Greg’s birthday a couple days early. More about those events at a later date.

It has been a relief to be out of the smoke filled air in Colville for these few days. We are on the road back to Colville today and hope the air quality improves each day to come.

Banana Blueberry Bread

We had a blueberry bush on our property in Kenmore and while we lived there I decided to combine some of the fresh berries with banana to make this loaf.

Ingredients:

  • 2-1/2 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup walnuts
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup soft butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2 medium ripe bananas, cut up
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In medium bowl, sift together the flour baking powder and salt, set aside.
  3. Using a blender chop the walnuts and add them to the flour mixture.
  4. Put the sugar, butter, egg, bananas and milk in the same blender container that you chopped the walnuts in.
  5. Blend on medium for 15 seconds or so stopping the motor to push the bananas down if needed.
  6. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix for a few strokes then fold in the blueberries and mix carefully till well moistened.
  7. Pour batter into greased loaf pan, 9x5x3.
  8. Bake in preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
  9. Cool on rack.
  10. Serve warm with butter or cream cheese.

Yield: 1 loaf

Food and Friends Hodgepodge

Sticky Toffee Pudding at Tom Morris Bar and Grill in St. Andrews, Scotland.

It’s the middle of the week and time for Wednesday Hodgepodge thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. What’s worth standing in line for? 

I’m going with Greg’s answer here. :0)

A Restroom!

2. Tell us about a favorite food related memory. 

We have many food related favorites and it is hard to choose just one but here goes.

In 2006 we along with two other couples (our doctor and his wife and our pastor and his wife) took a trip to Great Britain together. This was dubbed a ‘walking tour’. One of our over the top favorite and delicious eating experiences was at Conwy Bistro in Conwy, Wales. I had the most delicious shoulder of Welsh lamb and my mouth still waters when I think about it. We were also treated by the owners/chef with special treats while we dined. A remarkable food experience.

On this same self guided tour we decided to try Sticky Toffee Pudding at every food establishment we visited and to rate them against each other. This one above that we had in a Pub in York was a favorite.

3. What are some things you find particularly peaceful or calming? 

Quiet mornings with nothing pressing on the agenda watching the wildlife on our property.

4. Is there something you do now that gets you just as excited as it did when you were a child? 

Going on a trip. Now it’s the planning of a trip that gets me excited.

5. To what degree are you in touch with friends from grade school?

I am not in touch with any of my grade school friends.

high school?

There are a group of friends from high school that I’ve been in contact with, especially during the short years we lived in Camarillo (2006-2008). We had several mini reunions. I attended our 50th high school reunion in Montebello in 2018. We still exchange Christmas cards with two of my high school friends.

college if you attended college? 

My best friend from Cal-State LA married my cousin. (She’s on the left in the photo) We’ve had a lot of contact the past fifty plus years.  During my college years my friendship with Heidi developed not from school but from our Russian Baptist Church in L.A. (She’s on the right) We continue our friendship and cherish each other even though we live far apart.

I’ve also kept in contact with my first college roommate from the University of Redlands.

Having friends that are ‘forever friends’, ‘through thick and thin friends’ or ‘a friend that sticks closer than a brother’ are a treasure. We have a few of those kinds of friends we’ve made since college, too.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of Sticky Toffee Pudding…

From The Turf in Oxford, England.

From Dublin, Ireland, we ordered the pudding to go promising to return the plates and utensils.

We’ve enjoyed versions of it here in the USA, too.

SeaJack #6 141

This Sticky Toffee Pudding was enjoyed on the Sunset Terrace at The Grove in Asheville, North Carolina.

SeaJack #6 142

We made homemade Sticky Toffee Pudding for a British Pub Sunday Roast at our home. You can find the recipe here.

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Sticky Toffee 017

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